Coke quenching system

ABSTRACT

1. In a coke quenching system, the combination comprising: means defining a vehicle having a coke receiving cavity, a coke admitting opening communicating with said cavity and a coke releasing exit communicating with said cavity, and adapted to ravel between a coke receiving station, a coke quenching station and a coke dumping station; a hood over said coke receiving cavity and adjacent one side of said coke receiving opening, said hood including an elongated duct having an elongated opening facing said coke receiving cavity and a plurality of individual louvers in said elongated opening, each said louver being movably mounted for movement between open and closed positions, each said louver being movable independently of the others of said louvers; exhaust means fluid communication with said hood for withdrawing gases within said coke receiving cavity; and means mounted on said hood adjacent said coke receiving opening for generating a fluid barrier across said opening whereby gases emanating from coke received in said cavity may exit the vehicle substantially only through said hood.

oct. zz, 1974 J. E, LLEN 3,843,461

COKE-QUENCHING SYSTEM Filed April 7; 1971 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 M i afge@ @x)ffm @av/Mw' ffll/ oct. zz, 1974 E ALLEN v 3,843,461

COKE QUNCHING SYSTEM Filed April 7. 1971 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 OC. 22, J- EALLEN COKE QUENCHING SYSTEMv 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April '7. 1971 ou.22, 1974 J.E.ALLEN 3,843,461

COKE QUENCHING SYSTEM Filed April v. 1971 4 sheets-sheet 4 'UnitedStates Patent O 3,843,461 COKE QUENCHING SYSTEM John E. Allen, LakeForest, Ill., assignor to Interlake, Inc. Filed Apr. 7, 1971, Ser. No.132,128 Int. Cl. Cb 39/04 U.S. Cl. 202--227 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A coke quenching system employing a coke receiving vehiclemovable on rails between a coke receiving station, a coke quenchingstation and a coke dumping station. The vehicle includes a cokereceiving cavity defined by a closed bottom and terminating in agenerally upwardly facing coke receiving opening bounded on three sidesby a hood connected to an exhausting device for withdrawing gaseous andparticulate emissions from the coke as it is received in the cavity.Along an edge of the hood adjacent the coke receiving opening there isprovided a plurality of nozzles for generating a water spray barrieracross the opening so that the emissions will be withdrawn through thehood and cannot escape through the opening. Additionally, the opening isconfigured so as to allow the admission of coke quenching spray devicesinto the cavity at the quenching station to quench the coke.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to coke quenchingsystems and more particularly to a coke quenching system that minimizesemissions of gaseous and particulate material during the total quenchingoperation into the surrounding atmosphere.

Ever increasing concern over environmental pollution has focused on anumber of industrial operations that emit substantial amounts of gaseousand particulate materials (including entrained solid matter). Variousdevices have been employed to capture such emissions such aselectrostatic precipitators, scrubbers, etc. However, such devices havegenerally been applicable to use only in stationary structures.

One particular movable industrial operation producing substantialgaseous and particulate emission is the quenching of coke prior to itssubsequent use in, for example, iron production. Typically, thequenching operation is accomplished by pushing an oven load of cokedcoal into a special railroad type car at a loading point adjacent thecoke ovens. As the coke emerges from the oven, the gaseous andparticulate emission is negligible until the same begins to break up asit leaves a coke guide to drop into the quench car. This operationnormally results in the generation of substantial quantity of gasnormally regarded as air polluting. Thereafter, the filled quench car isthen moved to a quenching station wherein the contents of the car aresprayed with water or the like to quench the same. The spraying of wateron the hot coke results in the generation of a so-called quench cloucomprised of water vapor, gaseous emission from the coke, and variousparticulate matter, again regarded as an air polluting gaseous emission.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the principal object of the invention toprovide a new and improved coke quenching system that will substantiallyreduce or eliminate air polluting emissions generated during the pushingof coke into a quench car, during the travel of the quench car andduring the quenching of the coke in the car.

3,843,461 Patented Oct. 22, 1974 "ice The exemplary embodiment achievesthe foregoing objects through a construction wherein the quench car isprovided with a hood partially overlying a generally upwardly open cokereceiving cavity. Connected to the hood is an exhaust device so thatemissions generated within the coke receiving cavity of the car may bedrawn off to be scrubbed or the like. In addition, the hood is providedwith a plurality of spray heads for generating a water spray barrieracross the opening through which coke is introduced into the car so thatthe emissions cannot escape through the coke admitting opening.

Further, the hood is configured so that a movable spray quenching systemat a quenching station may be moved into the cavity for quenching thecoke without substantially disturbing the effective isolation of thecavity produced by the aforementioned spray heads.

According to the exemplary embodiment, the hood is formed as anelongated duct extending the length of the quench car and having adownwardly facing, elongated opening fronting on the coke receivingcavity. A plurality of independently operated louvers are located withinthe opening and are selectively openable to permit the withdrawal ofgases from any given portion of the quench car as, for example, when thesame is filled in differing stages.

Also provided is a fog spray system on the underside of the hood for thepurpose of generating fog to minimize temperatures within the quench carto protect metal parts thereof, and to reduce the temperature of thegases thereby also reducing the gas volume to be handled.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following specification taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. l is a side elevation of a vehicleembodying the coke quenching system;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the hood and quench car;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a movable coke quenching spray system;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of a coke quenching spray system;

FIG. 5 is a vertical section taken approximately along the line 5-5 ofFIG. 2 and additionally showing cooperation between the quench spraysystem and the quench car; v

FIGS. 6-8, inclusive, are fragmentary vertical sections of fog spraygenerating means within the quench car with FIG. 8 additionallydepicting a spray for generating a liquid barrier across the cokereceiving opening of the quench car;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary vertical section illustrating operatingmechanism for louvers employed in conjunction with the hood on thequench car;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of one end of the quench car hood andoperating mechanisms for the louvers;

FIG. 11 is a vertical section of the louver operating mechanism;

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary plan view of one of the louvers; and

FIG. 13 is a section of one of the louvers taken approximately along theline 13-13 of FIG. 12.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An exemplary embodiment of acoke quenching system is illustrated in FIG. l and is seen to comprise aquench car, generally designated 20, secured to an equipment trailer,generally designated 22, by means of a railroad coupler 24 and movableon rails 26. The quench car 20 and the equipment trailer 22 are movableas a unit between a coke receiving station, a quench station and a cokedumping station whereat the coke is received in the quench car 20,quenched and dumped for further use, respectively. To this end, theequipment trailer 22 may be provided with electromotive trucks (notshown) provided with power by any suitable means.

In addition, the equipment trailer 22 mounts an operators cab 28provided with suitable controls for the entire system, a vapor scrubber30, an exhaust blower 32 and water tanks 34. The exhaust blower 32 isoperative to draw gases emitted by coke in the quench car through thescrubber 30 by means of flexible duct work 36 connected to a hood,vgenerally designated 38, on the quench car 20.

With reference to FIGS. 2 and 5, the quench car 22 is seen to comprise ahorizontal trarne 40 such as that typically found on a flat car to whichwheels 42 are journaled for traversing the rails 26. On one side of thecar there are provided upwardly extending frame elements 44 whichsupport, at their upper ends, a chute-like, coke-receiving bottom panel46 which slopes downwardly therefrom to a coke discharging opening 48 atthe opposite side of the car. The opening 48 is normally closed by agate S0 pivotally mounted at 52 to the underside of a side wall 54.Additionally, the car is provided with end walls 56. 'Ille end walls 56,the side wall 54 and the bottom panel 46 kdefine 'a coke receivingcavity 58 for receiving coke 6|) from a conventional coke pusherassoci-ated with la coking oven. Of course, .the gate 50 may be providedwith 4a suitable latching and operating mechanism (not shown).

As best seen in FIG. 5, the hood 38 comprises an elongated duct 62formed of sheet metal or the like and, as indicated in FIG. 2, extendsthe length of the quench car 20. The sides of the sheet metal used informing the duct 62 may be secured to elongated structural members 64 asillustrated in FIG. 5 which structural mem-bers are spaced from eachother to dene an elongated opening 66. Louver means 68 are provided toclose the opening 66 and as best seen in FIG. 2, the louver means 68comprise four independently operable louvers 7 0.

The elongated duct 62 forming the hood is supported by a structurallysound frame 71 formed of piping which also serves as a conduit for a foggenerating system as well as a water barrier generating system. Moreparticularly, as seen in FIG. 5, the frame 71 mounts at its lower rightside a depending lflange 72 as well as a plurality of spray nozzles 74(only one of which is shown).l As best seen in FIG. 8, the spray nozzle74 is of the type that will direct a spray downwardly toward the upperend of the bottom panel 46 as well as to positions about 90 on eitherside thereof. As a result, the coke receiving cavity 58 is closed fromthe atmosphere exterior of the quench car 22 by the liquid barrierproduced by the sprays 74 so that gaseous emissions within the cavity 58from the coke 60 may be drawn through the opening 66 into the hood 38through the scrubber 30 by the fan 32 before being discharged to theatmosphere. Of course, at such time, the gases will essentially becleaned by action of the scrubber 30, which is conventional. The flange72 serves to protect the nozzle 74 against damage during the pushing ofcoke from the oven into the quenching car 22.

Because of the extremely high temperature of the coke when it isadmitted into the quench car 22, it is desirable to provide means forprotecting the various metal parts from the high temperatures such thatexcessively expensive alloys need not be required in fabricating thesame. To this end, a plurality of fog nozzles 76 are employed to blanketthe entire cavity 58 to preclude the metal parts of concern from beingexposed to temperatures in excess of 250. The structural details of thefog nozzles 76 are illustrated in FIGS. 6 through 8 and it is to bespecically noted that the same are connected to the structural pipingelements 71 in a num'ber of instances whereby the hood support frameprovides the additionai function of directing water to the nozzles. Thefog water may be piped -4 to the nozzles 74 and 76 from the water tanks34 on the equipment trailer 22 by any suitable means.

With reference now to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, a movable spray quenching systemto be located at a quenching station will be described. As best seen inFIGS. 3 and 4, the same includes a stationary frame 80 mounted on apedestal 82 to one side of the railway dened by tracks 26. Adjacent eachend of the frame 80 is an upwardly facing rack 84. Overlying thestationary frame 80 is a movable frame 86 mounting a plurality ofdepending rollers 88 which engage the upper surface of the stationaryframe 80. A cross member 90 on the underside of the movable frame 86mounts depending pillow block bearings 92 which journal a shaft 94 whichmay be driven by a motor (not shown) carried by the movable frame 86.Each end of the shaft 94 mounts a pinion gear 96 in engagement with therespective one of the racks 84 so that when the shaft 94 is driven, themovable frame 86 will be driven relative to the stationary frame 80 in adirection dependent upon the direction of rotation of the shaft 94.

Extending to one side of the movable frame y'86 is a plurality ofconduits each mounting a pair of spray nozzles 102 and 104. The conduits100 are also connected by a flexible hose 106 to a supply of water underpressure such as a water main 108.

Preferably, a vertical wall 110 is interposed between the tracks 26 andthe stationary frame 80 and is provided with vertically extending guideways 112 receiving movable shields 114 which may close the openingsthrough which the conduits 100 may be extended as illustrated in FIG. 3.Suitable operating means may be provided for the shields 114 to raisethe same when the carriage 86 is to be advanced to extend the conduits100.

As can be seen from FIGIS. 4 and 5, when the conduits 100 are extendedby reason of leftward movement of the movable carriage 86, the same passunder the hood 38 through the coke receiving opening in the quench car22 to enter the coke receiving cavity. Upon the applic-ation of waterunder pressure to the conduits 100, the spray nozzles 102 and 104 willspray quenching water on the coke contained within the quench car 22 inthe spray pattern illustrated in FIG. 4. Upon the completion of thequenching operation, the motor driving the shaft 94 may be reversed towithdraw the conduits 100- from the quench car and the movable Ishields1-14 may thereafter be closed.

With reference now to FIGS. 9 through 13, the construction of thelouvers 70 and their respective operators will be described. Since theconstruction of the operators at each end of the car is identical, onlyone need be described.

With particular reference to FIGS. 9 and l0, each end of the car isprovided with a pair of oppositely directed air cylinders and 122 whichmay be of the double acting variety. The cylinder 120 has one endpivotally secured as at 124 to a frame member 126 while the cylinder 122is pivotally secured as at 128 to another frame member 130. The pistonof the cylinder 120` is pivotally connected as at 132 to a lever arm 134while the piston of the cylinder 122 is pivot-ally connected as at 136to a lever arm 138. As best seen in FIG. 10, the lever arms 134 and 138are horizontally displaced from each other as are the cylinders 120 and122 so that the same may operate independently without interference.Each of the lever arm arrangements is such that actuation of itscorresponding cylinder may rotate the lever arm approximately 90 about apivot axis defined 'by a shaft and, as will be seen, such results inmovement of an associated louver 70 between the full line and dottedline positions shown in FIG. 9.

As best illustrated in FIGS. l0 and 11, the lever arm 134 is secured tothe shaft 140 as by welding while the lever arm 138 is secured to atubular shaft 142 journaled concentrically about the shaft 140. Theconcentric shaft 142 is in turn journaled in any suitable bearings 144secured to the frame while an end of the shaft 140 extending from theshaft 142 is similarly journaled in bearings 146.

As best seen in FIG. 1l, the endmost louver 70 is fixedly secured to theconcentric shaft 142 while the innermost louver from the given end isfixedly secured to the shaft 140 so that the louvers may -beindependently operated. And since identical constructions are providedat both ends, it will be appreciated that each of the four louvers 70 isindependently operable under the control of an associated air cylinderto either open or close its respective portion of the elongated opening66 in the hood 38.

FIGS. 12 and 13 illustrate the construction of the louvers and each isseen to basically include a center tube 148 which may be secured to itsrespective shaft and which mounts, at -both ends, a diamond-shaped endplate 150 (only one of which is shown). Extending between oppositepoints of the end plates 150 are elongated rods 152 and as a result, aframe is defined. Four plates 154 extend'between the rods 152 and thecentral shaft 148 to complete each louver 70.

Suitable manual or automatic controls may be provided to control thesequence of operations as mentioned previously. `For example, thelouvers 70 may be operated sequentially by means of a timer if the cokeis pushed into the quench car 22 beginning at one end and finishing atanother. It is also preferable that the louver control be such that atleast one of the louvers is maintained open for the period of time thatthe car moves from the loading station to the quenching station topermit continual exhausting of gases. Of course, various safetyinterlocks may be employed. Moreover, means may -be provided at thequenching station for capturing the quench water which may ythen befiltered and returned to the tanks 34 for subsequent use as the fogspray.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that a coke quenching systemmade according to the invention produces a number of advantages overthose heretofore employed. Principally, air pollution is minimized byreason of the unique arrangement of spray emission barriers and a hoodto withdraw gaseous and particulate material for su-bsequent scrubbingto eliminate such gases and parv -ticulate material in t-he resultingdischarge. In addition, the use of sprays to generate a fog in the cokereceiving cavity cools the emitted gases thereby significantly reducingtheir volume so that the same may be easily handled by the unit. As aresult, the problematic quench cloud and its polluting effects areessentially eliminated through the use of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a coke quenching system, the combination comprising:

means defining a vehicle having a coke receiving cavity, a co'keadmitting opening communicating with said cavity and a coke releasingexit communicating with said cavity, and adapted to travel between acoke receiving station, a coke quenching station and a coke dumpingstation;

a hood over said coke receiving cavity and adjacent one side of saidcoke receiving opening, said hood including an elongated duct having anelongated opening facing said coke receiving cavity and a plurality ofindividual louvers in said elongated opening, each said louver beingmovably mounted for movement between open and closed positions, eachsaid louver being movable independently of the others of said louvers;

exhaust means in fluid communication with said hood for withdrawinggases within said coke receiving cavity; and

means mounted on said hood adjacent said coke receiving opening forgenerating a fluid barrier across said opening whereby gases emanatingfrom coke received in said cavity may exit the vehicle substantiallyonly through said hood.

2. In a coke quenching system, the combination comprising:

means defining a vehicle having a coke receiving cavity,

a coke admitting opening communicating with said cavity and a cokereleasing exit communicating with said cavity, and adapted to travelbetween a coke receiving station, a coke quenching station and a cokedumping station;

a hood over said coke receiving cavity and adjacent one side of saidcoke receiving opening;

exhaust means in fluid communication with said hood for withdrawinggases within said coke receiving cavity;

means mounted on said hood adjacent said coke receiving opening forgenerating a fluid barrier across said opening whereby gases emanatingfrom co-ke received in said cavity may exit the vehicle substantiallyonly through said hood;

said hood being defined by an elongated duct having an elongated openingfacing said coke receiving cavity and louver means movably mounted insaid elongated opening for selectively opening or closing the same, saidlouver means comprising at least two louvers;

means mounting said louvers for independent movement within said openingbetween open and closed positions and comprising a first shaft mountingone of said louvers, a second shaft telescoped about said first shaftand mounting the other louver; and

a pair of motors, one associated with each of said shafts, for rotatingthe same to move the associated louver between said open and closedpositions.

3. The coke quenching system of claim 1 wherein said coke receivingopening is configured to permit coke quenching spray means to enter saidcoke receiving cavity; and movable coke quenching spray means located atsaid coke quenching station; and means for moving said coke quenchingspray means into and out of said cavity to said coke receiving opening.

4. The coke quenching system of claim 3 further including stationarymeans mounting said movable coke quenching spray means for movement intoand out of said cavity and said moving means comprises a shaft mountinga pinion journaled on one of said stationary means and said movablespray means, a rack in engagement with said pinion and mounted on theother of said movable spray means and said stationary means, and areversible motor for rotating said shaft.

5. The coke quenching system of claim 1 further including a plurality ofmeans on said hood for generating a fog spray within said cavity duringthe receipt of coke therein.

6. In a coke quenching system, the combination comprising: meansdefining a first vehicle having a coke receiving cavity, a cokeadmitting opening communicating with said cavity and a coke releasingexit communicating with said cavity, and having railroad trucks thereonfor travel on rails between a coke receiving station and a coke dumpingstation; means defining a second vehicle connected to said first vehicleand movable therewith between said stations, said second vehicle furthermounting gas scrubbing means and exhaust means in uid communication withsaid gas scrubbing means for driving gases through said scrubbing means;means defining a hood over said coke receiving cavity adjacent said cokereceiving opening; means interconnecting said hood with said scrubbingmeans whereby gases from said cavity may be withdrawn therefrom throughsaid hood and scrubbed; means adjacent said coke receiving opening forgenerating a fiuid barrier across said opening whereby gases emanatingfrom coke received in said cavity may exit said first vehiclesubstantially only through said hood; and means for propelling saidvehicles between said stations; said hood being definedy by an elongatedduct having an elongated opening facing said coke receiving cavity andfurther including a plurality of louvers in said elongated opening, eachmounted for movement between positions opening and closing an associatedportion of said opening, and a plurality of means, each operableindependently of the other, for moving a respective one of said louversbetween said positions.

7. In a coke quenching system, the combination comprising: meansdefining a first vehicle having a coke receiving cavity, a cokeadmitting opening communicating with said cavity and a coke releasingexit communicating with said cavity, and having railroad trucks thereonfor travel on `rails between 1a coke receiving station and a cokedumping station; means defining a second vehicle connected to said firstvehicle, said second vehicle further mounting gas scrubbing and exhaustmeans for driving and scrubbing gases emanating from coke received insaid cavity; means dening a hood over said coke receiving cavityadjacent said coke receiving opening; means interconnecting said hoodwith said scrubbing and exhaust means whereby gases from said cavity maybe withdrawn therefrom through said hood and scrubbed; means adjacentsaid coke receiving opening for generating a iiuid barrier across saidopening whereby gases emanating from coke received in said cavity mayexit said first vehicle substantially only through said hood; means forquenching coke received in said cavity; means for propelling sa'idvehicles on r-a-ils between said stations; said hood being defined by anelongated duct mounted on said first vehicle and having an elongatedopening facing said coke receiving cavity and further including aplurality of louvers' in said elongated opening, each mounted for-movement between positions opening and closing an associated portion ofsaid opening, a plurality of means, each operable independently of theother for moving a respective one of said louvers between saidpositions; and wherein said means for generating a fluid barriercomprises a plurality of spray nozzles mounted on said hood adjacentsaid coke receiving opening for generating a liquid curtain across saidopening.

8. In a coke quenching system, the combination comprising: meansdefining a first vehicle having a coke receiving cavity, a cokeadmitting opening communicating with said cavity and a coke releasingexit communicating with said cavity, and having railroad trucks thereonfor travel on rails between a coke receiving station and a coke dumpingstation; means delining a second vehicle connected to said first vehicleand movable therewith between said stations, said second vehicle furthermounting gas scrubbing means and exhaust means in tiuid communicationwith said gas scrubbing means for driving gases through said scrubbingmeans; means defining a hood over said coke receiving cavity adjacentsaid coke receiving opening; means interconnecting said hood with saidscrubbing means whereby gases from said cavity may be withdrawntherefrom through said hood and scrubbed; means adjacent said cokereceiving opening for generating a fiuid barrier across said openingwhereby gases emanating from coke received in said cavity may exit saidfirst vehicle substantially only through said hood; and means forpropelling said vehicles between said stations; said means forgenerating a fluid barrier comprises a plurality of spray nozzlesmounted on said hood adjacent said coke receiving opening for generatinga liquid curtain across said opening; and further including a pluralityof spray devices mounted on said hood for generating a fog spray withinsaid cavity during the receipt of coke therein.

9. The coke quenching system of claim 7 wherein said coke receivingopening and said hood are constructed and arranged to permit sidewaysentrance of coke quenching spray means when said vehicles are located ata coke quenching station between said receiving and dumping stations.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,795,539 6/1957 Hughes 202-228 X3,367,844 2/ 1968 Cremer 202227 3,547,782 12/ 1970 Schon 202-263 809,645l/ 1906 Treat 202--227 X 956,397 4/ 1910 Mitchell et al. 202-227 UX3,675,400 7/ 1972 Kubsch 202-227 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,928,866 12/1970Germany 202-227 748,087 3/ 1944 Germany 202-227 364,236 1/1932 GreatBritain 202-227 470,507 8/ 1937 Great `Britain 202-227 NORMAN YUDKOFF,Primary IExaminer D. EDWARDS, Assistant Examiner `U.S. C1.X.R.

202-263; -385, Dig. 29

1. In a coke quenching system, the combination comprising: meansdefining a vehicle having a coke receiving cavity, a coke admittingopening communicating with said cavity and a coke releasing exitcommunicating with said cavity, and adapted to ravel between a cokereceiving station, a coke quenching station and a coke dumping station;a hood over said coke receiving cavity and adjacent one side of saidcoke receiving opening, said hood including an elongated duct having anelongated opening facing said coke receiving cavity and a plurality ofindividual louvers in said elongated opening, each said louver beingmovably mounted for movement between open and closed positions, eachsaid louver being movable independently of the others of said louvers;exhaust means fluid communication with said hood for withdrawing gaseswithin said coke receiving cavity; and means mounted on said hoodadjacent said coke receiving opening for generating a fluid barrieracross said opening whereby gases emanating from coke received in saidcavity may exit the vehicle substantially only through said hood.